Austintown woman bilked out of $13K in phone scam

AUSTINTOWN — A township woman on Friday reportedly lost $13,000 to phone scammers claiming to be from the U.S. Social Security Administration.

The scammer told the woman she faced several criminal charges in North Carolina and that she could avoid criminal charges by purchasing prepaid gift cards and giving him the card numbers, according to an Austintown Police Department report.

She purchased 26 total cards with $500 on each, and gave the scammer the card numbers, the report states. She was later unable to stop the card transfers.